An electrifying memoir from the pioneering cultural icon The New Yorker called “the coolest person in New York,” whose fearless creativity reshaped the worlds of art, music, and style.A Cappella Books welcomes Fab 5 Freddy to Atlanta's historical Tara Theatre to celebrate the release of his new memoir, "Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture.” Freddy will appear in conversation with Atlanta's own Killer Mike. The program will be moderated by AJC cultural reporter Christopher Daniel.
Following the conversation, The Tara will host a screening of Charlie Ahearn’s 1982 film “Wild Style," featuring appearances by seminal figures such as Adam Horowitz, Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, The Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Rammellzee and Grandmaster Flash. Freddy will introduce the film.
A note on the THREE types of tickets available for this event:
Book Talk Ticket:
Includes a signed hardcover edition of "Everybody's Fly" and admission for the 7 PM book talk and signing. ($32 PLUS TAX)
Book Talk and Movie Ticket:
Includes a signed hardcover edition of "Everybody's Fly," admission for the 7 PM book talk and signing, and the 8:30 PM screening of “Wild Style." ($48.49 PLUS TAX)
Movie Ticket:
Admission to the 8:30 PM screening of “Wild Style." ($16.49 PLUS TAX)
*Hit the 7 PM Showtime option on the ticketing page to select your ticket.
About the Book
Fab 5 Freddy doesn’t just have a great story—he is the story. Name a seismic cultural shift, and chances are, he wasn’t just there—he was helping to make it happen. He’s among the first graffiti artists to turn subway tags into fine art, the visionary behind the first hip-hop movie, the bridge between Jean-Michel Basquiat and the downtown new wave scene, the first person to take rap global on MTV, and the opening rhyme of Blondie’s number-one smash hit “Rapture”—“Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody’s fly”—the song that propelled hip-hop from the New York streets to mainstream culture. With a spirit of joyful creativity and a deep capacity for connecting with kindred spirits (Basquiat, Haring, Lee, Flash, Warhol, and the Clash, to name a few), he shattered racial and artistic boundaries, bridging worlds and raising underground movements to pop culture dominance.
“Everybody’s Fly” is a fast-moving, all-access pass to Fred’s extraordinary life—one that begins in a book- and jazz-filled Brooklyn home and takes us deep into New York’s creative explosions from the 1970s into the 1990s. He didn’t just shape culture, he synthesized it—from highbrow to street, the Bronx to the East Village, punk to rap, Warhol to Wild Style. Whether he’s skipping school to wander New York City’s museums, painting subway cars that became moving masterpieces, or bringing hip-hop to downtown clubs for the first time, Fred’s genius has always been in seeing what others couldn’t—until he made them see it too.
Vibrant, rhapsodic, and compulsively readable, “Everybody’s Fly” is at once an intimate memoir and panoramic cultural history. It is a love letter to the art of seeing, a fascinating account of an inimitable creative life, and a celebration of what it means to shape culture
About the Author
Fred Brathwaite, also known as Fab 5 Freddy, is a pioneering graffiti artist who became one of the first to exhibit his paintings internationally helping ignite the street art movement. He co-produced, starred in, and composed the music for the cult classic film “Wild Style,” directed music videos for numerous hip-hop stars, including Snoop Dogg, Nas, and Queen Latifah, and was the original host of “Yo! MTV Raps.” Brathwaite lives in Harlem, where he continues to make visual art, produce and direct projects for film and television, and leads the social equity cannabis brand he co-founded, B Noble.
About the Conversation Partner
Killer Mike is a Grammy Award–winning rapper, entrepreneur, and Atlanta-based advocate, known both for his solo work and as one half of Run The Jewels. His 2023 solo album “MICHAEL” earned three Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song and Performance for “SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS,” and marked his first solo release since 2012’s “R.A.P. Music.” Beyond music, he has been recognized for his political and social advocacy, earning Billboard’s inaugural 2020 Change Maker Award, and has appeared in film and television, including “Baby Driver,” “ATL,” “Ozark,” and the Emmy Award–winning PBS series “Love & Respect with Killer Mike.” He currently co-stars in FX’s “The Lowdown.”
About the Moderator
Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is an Atlanta-based, award-winning journalist, cultural critic and ethnomusicologist. The Spartanburg, South Carolina native previously held teaching stints with Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University: creating each universities' music, entertainment, and lifestyle journalism courses.
About the Film
Universally hailed as the first hip-hop movie, "Wild Style" captures New York's hip-hop culture circa 1981 and several prominent figures including Busy Bee Starski; Fab 5 Freddy; the Cold Crush Brothers; and one of the godfathers of hip-hop, Grandmaster Flash. A movie whose influence cannot be underestimated and hailed as the most inspirational hip-hop of movie of all time, "Wild Style" immortalizes the birth of the underground hip-hop scene about to explode around the world, changing the face of music, fashion, art, and a way of life forever. Following street artist Zorro (played by legendary subway artist Lee Quiñones) and his crew as they journey through the streets, projects, and train yards of New York, keeping one step ahead of the cops and their rivals, the film climaxes in one of the most famous hip-hop concerts in history. Featuring the pioneers at the forefront of a cultural revolution including DJs, emcees, and breakers such as Grandmaster Flash, the Chief Rocker Busy Bee, Fab 5 Freddy, the Rock Steady Crew, and the Cold Crush Brothers, "Wild Style" is the greatest hip-hop movie of all time.
Event Venue
Tara Atlanta, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324-3758, United States
Tickets
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